Signage design triumphs

Frost* and the City of Sydney have won an award for their park signage system being rolled out across 400 inner-city open spaces.

The collaboration won the Interpretation and Presentation Award at the 2010 EnergyAustralia National Trust Heritage Awards, recently announced in Sydney.

Frost* was approached by the City of Sydney to create a new signage system for parks in the City of Sydney local government area.

The parks fall into three broad categories - small, medium, large - and vary from 20metre square street closures to complex large-scale parks like the Glebe Foreshore Parklands and Sydney Park at St Peters.

Rather than produce signage communicating a set of prohibitive regulations, the City and Frost* saw this as an opportunity to create something more positive.

The signage design could perform several distinct functions – identifying the park, carrying the park regulations, wayfinding, including the mapping of dog management areas and information about the park’s formation and past use.

From this idea, Frost* developed a four-sided modular system, designed to separate these functions and minimise the visual impact of signage in the landscapes, which provide inner-city dwellers with pockets of green respite.

The Interpretation and Presentation Award in the 2010 EnergyAustralia National Trust Heritage Awards is shared by The City of Sydney, Frost* and Anne-Maree Whitaker, who developed a history website supporting the park signage initiative.

Frost* Team Credits:
Creative Director – Vince Frost
Design Director – Carlo Giannasca
Designers – Bridget Atkinson, Sarah Estens, Peter Renigeris, Natasha Bartoshefski
Project Manager – Joanna Mackenzie